Earlier this month the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences published a paper co-authored by Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) staff. The paper ‘Health consequences of sex trafficking: A systematic review’[1]. The Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences is part of the Open Access publishing of Nepal Journals OnLine (NepJOL) supported by INASP.

The review reminds us that sex trafficking is one of the most common forms of human trafficking globally. It is associated with health, emotional, social, moral and legal problems. The victims of sex trafficking when returned home are often ignored. This review explored the health consequences of sex trafficking among women and children. A total of 15 articles were included covering health risks and well-being related to sex trafficking. Sexual and physical violence among victims such as rape and repetitive stress and physical injuries were common. The prevalence of STI (sexually transmitted infections) and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) was also reported as high. Being trafficked at a young age, having been in brothels for a longer period and sexual violence and forced prostitution were linked with a higher risk for HIV infection. Physical health problems reported included headaches, fatigue, dizziness, back pain, memory problem, stomach pain, pelvic pain, gynaecological infections, weight loss, lesions or warts, unwanted pregnancies and abortions. The studies on mental health reported that depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were commonly reported health consequences among sex trafficking victims.

The authors of the review concluded that there is a compelling need for interventions raising awareness about sex trafficking among young girls and women most at risk of being trafficked. Most studies in this review have focussed on the physical health problems of the trafficked victims although there is also remarkable mental burden amongst those victims. Key policy makers, government officials, public health officials, health care providers, legal authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should be made aware about the health risks and consequences of trafficking. Trafficking consequences should be recognised as a health issue and all the sectors involved including regulating bodies should collaborate to fight against sex trafficking

This first week of March has been a good week for FHSS publications. On March 1st CMMPH Prof. Vanora Hundley published her collaborative paper ‘Do Cochrane summaries help student midwives understand the findings of Cochrane systematic reviews: the BRIEF randomised trial’.[1] With colleagues based across the UK and Ireland she surveyed over 800 midwifery students at nine universities. This results of the study can be found in the journal Systematic Reviews. This is a Gold Open Access journals, hence the paper is freely available for anybody to read across the globe. To read this paper click here!

The second FHSS publication is a chapter in a Kindle book on the Importance of public health in low- and middle- income countries, written by Dr. Puspa Raj Pant,CMMPH’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, and BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada.[2] Padam Simkhada is Professor of International Public Health and Associate Dean (Global Engagement) for the Faculty of Education, Health and Community at Liverpool John Moores University. The chapter is part of the Kindle book with the long title: Public Health for the Curious: Why Study Public Health? (A Decision-Making Guide to College Major, Research & Scholarships, and Career Success for the College Students and Their Parents) edited by Richard Lee Skolnik from Yale University, USA.

The third paper is by FHSS PhD student Clare Farrance with her supervisors Dr. Fotini Tsofliou and Dr. Carol Clark. This systematic review ‘Adherence to community based group exercise interventions for older people: A mixed-methods systematic review’ assessed the views and adherence of older participants attending community-based exercise programmes of over six-months duration. Reporting that evidence is still very limited, although the preliminary limited evidence is positive regarding long-term adherence rates. This paper is also Open Access, funded by BU’s Open Access fund.

Pant, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2016) Importance of public health in low- and middle- income countries, In: Skolnik, R.L. (ed.) Public Health for the Curious: Why Study Public Health? (A Decision-Making Guide to College Major, Research & Scholarships, and Career Success for the College Students and Their Parents) Kindle Edition (for more details click here!)

NET4SOCIETY, the network of National Contact Points for research in the field of Socio-Economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in FP7, is hosting an Active Ageing Conference in Dublin on 9th-11th July 2012.

The event will be themed around the 2012 European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations and will focus on the human and social aspects and implications of active ageing. Key note speakers include Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary General of the AGE Platform Europe network and Lenia Samuel from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

The Active & Healthy Ageing EU Innovation Partnership was established earlier this year with a pilot aim to increase the average healthy lifespan in Europe by two years by 2020. Its steering group (33 members from Europe including member states and regional authorities, organisations representing groups of patients, doctors, academics, and businesses) announced this week that it will focus on 5 research and policy areas:

improving medicines compliance

preventing falls

fighting frailty and malnutrition

developing new care models

boosting the uptake of ICT solutions for independent living

The strategy includes in particular actions at the regional level, for example to spread remote monitoring care models for older patients suffering from chronic diseases. Other actions will be added later to these first five priorities, including improving health literacy and the diagnosis of cognitive decline.